Granular matter and the time-dependent viscous eikonal equation (Q2428013)

Using a two-layer model with standing and rolling layers, the paper studies a dry sand running from evenly distributed sources downward on a flat horizontal table with arbitrary geometry and vertical rim of variable height. The viscous eikonal equation is introduced in the above model with a rapidly moving thin rolling layer, and this equation as a limiting case describes maximal stationary sand heaps with good accuracy. The formal derivation of the eikonal equation is given together with the Cole-Hopf transformation to a linear equation in the case when the exchange term is a quadratic function of the gradient. The diffusion coefficient is a function of speed and average thickness of the rolling layer and of the exchange rate between the two layers. Then, the authors explain the connection between the general eikonal equation and the viscous eikonal equation. Qualitative properties between the dynamic and stationary equations are demonstrated by using the convergence to equilibrium and the maximal slope. Finally, for the one-dimensional case, explicit formulas are found for stationary solutions. They approximate the solution to the general eikonal equation in the interior of a domain, and adapt to boundary conditions in a boundary layer with steep gradients.